Henderson Alvarez: Deal with Pittsburgh falls through
Rotowire
Alvarez announced Sunday via his personal Twitter account that he'll return to the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball after he wasn't able to finalize a minor-league contract with the Pirates.
Reports surfaced just over a week ago that Alvarez would join the Pirates' 60-man roster pool, but the soon-to-be 30-year-old right-hander intimated that Pittsburgh ultimately chose to bring in another pitcher to fill the opening. Alvarez hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2017, when he made three starts for Philadelphia.
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Pirates' Henderson Alvarez: Heading to Pittsburgh
Rotowire
Alvarez is signing a minor-league deal with the Pirates on Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Alvarez spent 2019 at the Triple-A level and posted a 5.94 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 37:18 K:BB over 53 innings. The 30-year-old last appeared in the majors with the Phillies as a starter in 2017, and he was playing with the Milwaukee Milkmen in independent ball before connecting with the Pirates.
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Nationals' Henderson Alvarez: Assigned to minors
Rotowire
Alvarez was reassigned to minor-league camp on Saturday, Byron Kerr of MASN Sports reports.
Alvarez was in camp as a non-roster invitee but was never likely to make the team. He's made just seven big-league starts over the last four seasons, so his chances of making a significant impact this year are low.
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Nationals' Henderson Alvarez: Links up with Nationals
Rotowire
Alvarez signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Monday, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.
The deal includes an invitation to spring training, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. Alvarez spent the 2018 season with Quintana Roo of the Mexican League, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 64:24 K:BB across 120.2 innings (19 starts). He owns a career 3.82 ERA across parts of five big-league seasons, though he hasn't been effective at the major-league level since his All-Star campaign with the Marlins in 2014.
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Henderson Alvarez: Moves to Mexican Baseball League
Rotowire
Alvarez signed with Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican Baseball League on Friday, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.
Alvarez has thrown just 14.2 major-league innings since 2015, all with the Phillies last year. His strikeout rate, which never went higher than 15.4 percent in any season, has been at 9 percent or below in each of his past two major-league seasons. The 27-year-old has a 3.82 career ERA in 577.2 major-league innings, an All-Star appearance, and a 12th-place finish in a Cy Young race, but couldn't find a job in Major League Baseball due to a combination of his injury history and lack of strikeouts.
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Henderson Alvarez: Hits open market
Rotowire
Alvarez cleared waivers and will in turn become a free agent.
Alvarez signed a minor-league deal with Philadelphia in August after pitching with the independent Long Island Ducks, and recorded three big-league starts during the month of September. During those outings, he allowed seven earned runs off 14 hits and 11 walks while striking out six in 14.2 innings. The right-hander hasn't appeared in over five games since the 2014 season with the Marlins, and will look to latch on with a club in the coming months.
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Phillies' Henderson Alvarez: Walks six in no-decision
Rotowire
Alvarez allowed three runs on five hits and six walks over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday. He did not record a strikeout.
His control completely left him late in the outing -- Alvarez issued five walks over the fourth and fifth innings. He was able to minimize the damage, but this was a poor way to end the season, as Alvarez was essentially auditioning for other clubs. The former All-Star spent a good chunk of the year in independent ball after a long battle with shoulder issues.
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Phillies' Henderson Alvarez: Fires five scoreless innings Saturday
Rotowire
Alvarez pitched five scoreless innings with two strikeouts during Saturday's loss to Atlanta. He didn't factor into the decision.
This was just the second start of the season for Alvarez, so pitching five scoreless innings checks out as a rock-solid outing. However, he's now struck out just six batters through 10 innings, so his fantasy upside is extremely capped heading into his final outing of the year against the Mets at Citi Field.
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Phillies' Henderson Alvarez: Spins just five frames in loss to Athletics
Rotowire
Alvarez (0-1) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters through five innings while taking the loss to Oakland on Sunday.
This was the first start of the season for Alvarez, so it wasn't surprising to see the 27-year-old righty post a mediocre showing. Alvarez entered Sunday with a 4.7 K/9 through 563 innings, so his fantasy value is significantly capped by his lack of strikeout upside. He's probably best viewed as a risky option for his projected upcoming starts against the Braves at SunTrust Park and the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
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Phillies' Henderson Alvarez: Will start Sunday
Rotowire
Manager Pete Mackanin said Alvarez will start Sunday against Oakland, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.
The Phillies are transitioning to a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season in order to get a look at Alvarez and to cut down on the innings of their other starters. Alvarez made his last appearance in the majors in 2015 with the Marlins. His fastball has been clocked as high as 98 mph this season, so the Phillies will give him some starts to see if he can be an option to compete for a rotation spot next spring.
Alvarez had his contract purchased from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.
Alvarez, who inked a minor-league deal with the Phillies in August after pitching with the independent Long Island Ducks, is set to join the big club after compiling a 2.84 ERA and 8:6 K:BB across three starts (19 innings) with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's appeared primarily as a starting pitcher throughout his career, but it's unclear what role Alvarez will play down the stretch for Philadelphia. Seeing as the 27-year-old hasn't pitched in the majors since 2015 due to a slew of shoulder injuries, it would seem unwise to expect much from him upon his return. Still, his fastball was clocked at up to 98 mph during his stint with the Ducks, so if he's able to show flashes of what made him an All-Star in 2014, it could help him earn a job for next season.
Phillies' Henderson Alvarez: Joins Philadelphia on minors deal
Rotowire
Alvarez agreed to a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Tuesday, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports.
Alvarez hasn't pitched in the majors since 2015 -- when he was the Marlins' Opening Day starter -- thanks to a myriad of shoulder issues. The 27-year-old has compiled a 3.09 ERA in 32 innings (seven starts) with the independent Long Island Ducks this season, but his 13:14 K:BB leaves something to be desired. On a more positive note, Alvarez's fastball has been clocked at up to 98 miles per hour during his time with the Ducks, according to Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com, which bodes well for the former All-Star's chances of eventually earning his way back to the big leagues. Alvarez will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to begin his tenure with the Phillies.
